Smith, Ross – June 1917

The month of June 1917 was spent doing further flying training to qualify as a pilot. The Air Flying Corps grew out of the Army, and the Smith brothers were Army officers (Ross a Captain, and Keith a Lieutenant) who chose to become pilots.

June 2nd.
Did my first solo after 1 hr. 14 mins. dual (in the Morris Farman)

June 7th.
Left Ishmalia and went to ABOUKIR to 22 Res. Sqdn to fly Avros. (AVRO 504) Peck was my instructor & I went solo on the 10th (of June)…. after 2 hrs 35 mins dual. I found landing Avros a little difficult at first.

June 13th.
We had a Regatta in Aboukir Bay & there we (sic) swimming races and all that sort of thing. It was very nice swimming at this time of year & we often got some good surf bathing. The old forts around Aboukir show signs of their bombardment. The Ancient Roman city of CANOPUS is quite near the aerodrome and parts of it are still in good repair. My weight is 11 st. 8 ½ lbs on the scales at the Union Club in Alex.

BE2

The B.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane in service with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) from 1912 until the end of World War I. About 3,500 were built. Initially used as front-line reconnaissance aircraft and light bombers; variants of the type were also used as night fighters. The B.E.2 was retained in front-line service long after it had become obsolete, for want of a suitable replacement.